Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” This quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. expresses that ignorance and stupidity can crush one’s chance to have success and happiness. This idea is conveyed in Harper Lee’s famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which is set in Maycomb County, Alabama during the Great Depression. The story is narrated by a girl named Scout Finch, as she grows up in a “tired old town” and struggles with the ignorance of the citizens in Maycomb during the trial of Tom Robinson; an African-American man accsused of beating and raping a white woman. Throughout the novel, Lee shows that ignorance clouds one’s judgement, which leads to prejudice, and only through seeing from

another’s point of view can ignorance be eliminated.
Lee uses external conflict to illustrate that the ignorance one has prevents them from accepting those who are different.

An example of this can be found when Scout is arguing with Aunt Alexandra about why she can’t spend time with her classmate; Walter Cunningham. Aunt Alexandra says, ‘“Because he is trash, that’s why you can’t play with him. I’ll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to your father as it is”’ (Lee 225). In this quote, Aunt Alexandra states that Walter is ‘trash’ because she is worried about his actions rubbing off on Scout. This is Woman vs. Woman conflict because Aunt Alexandra is preventing Scout from hanging out with Walter Cunningham, even though he is good person. This generates a spark that leads to an argument on why Scout is not permitted to hang out with the Cunningham boy. Alexandra’s ignorance, or lack of knowledge, causes her to judge Walter based on his social and economic status, which is lower than the Finch family’s. A second example of can be found when Aunt Alexandra speaks to Scout about the Cunninghams. ‘“I mean in Maycomb County. The thing about it is, our kind of folks don’t like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don’t like the Ewells and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks”’(Lee 226). In this passage, Aunt Alexandra states that every social class has someone they look down upon. In the Finches’ case, they look down on the Cunninghams. This shows Man vs.

Society conflict because each group is labeled by society, forced to be viewed how society wants them to be. No matter who they are or how they try to fight it, it sticks with them. Due to ignorance and prejudice, people like Alexandra cause repercussions such as the categorization of others on how rich or poor they are, instead of what type of person they are.
Lee uses internal conflict to portray how one cannot accept others until they view things from another’s point of view.. A model of this can be found in the beginning of part two when Scout and her brother have a fight, shortly after Jem turned twelve. “‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!’ I burst into tears and fled to Calpurnia.”(Lee 115). This quote shows man vs self conflict because
Another instance can be found when Calpurnia brings Jem and Scout to her church and angers a woman named Lula, “‘You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here-- they got their church, we got our’n’” (Lee 119). This quote is an example
In conclusion, until people look at things from another’s point of view, ignorance will dominate. By using internal and external conflict, Lee proves that